First Announcement

The Third ASEM Symposium on Urban Forestry

Guangzhou, China

November 12 – 13, 2008

1. Background

Forest issues were first taken into the Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) agenda in the first ASEM Science and Technology Minister’s Meeting held in Beijing, China on October 14-15, 1999. Key priorities for potential cooperation, including forestry, sustainable development of ecosystems and environmental protection, were incorporated in the Chairman’s Statement of the meeting. In the third biennial ASEM Summit Meeting held in Seoul, Korea on October 19-21, 2000, the initiative for Scientific and Technological Cooperation on Forest Conservation and Sustainable Development was enrolled. As follow-up actions and outputs, the ASEM Symposium on Forest Conservation and Sustainable Development was held in Guiyang, China on July 16-20, 2001, and the ASEM Workshop on Conservation and Sustainable Use of Forests took place in Chiang Mai, Thailand on April 19-21, 2002.

As an important activity of ASEM forest scientific and technological cooperation, the biennial ASEM Symposium on Urban Forestry has been held in Asian and European ASEM members and partners in turn since 2004. The First ASEM Symposium on Urban Forestry with the theme of “Social, Economic and Cultural Values of Urban Forestry” was held in Suzhou and Beijing, China from November 29 to December 3, 2004. The Second ASEM Symposium on Urban Forestrywith the theme of “Urban Forestry for Human Health and Wellbeing” was held in Copenhagen, Denmark during June 28 – 30, 2006. The Third Symposium on Urban Forestry will be held in Guangzhou, Chinaon November 12-13, 2008, with the theme of“Urban Forests and Life Quality”. A pre-symposium trip to the urban forestry development in GuangzhouCity will be arranged on November 11, 2008.

The ASEM Symposium on Urban Forestry is of significant importance for promoting further cooperation and exchange among ASEM members in the rapid urbanization process and advancing urban ecologicalization and sustainable development.

2. Sponsors

ChineseAcademy of Forestry

Danish Centre for Forest, Landscape and Planning

3.Theme and Topics

Theme: Urban Forests and Life Quality

Topics:

Urban Forests as well as Tourism and Leisure;

Urban Forests and Urban-Rural Harmony;

Urban Forests and Ecological Culture;

Urban Forests and Land Planning;

Urban Forests and Climate Change;

Urban Forests and Biodiversity;

Mode and Experience of Guangzhou’s Urban Forestry Development.

4. Pre-symposium Trip

Route:XiliuheNational Forest Park -NanshaWetlandPark at the Mouth of ZhujiangRiver-BaiyunshanMountainNational Forest Park -MaofengshanMountainNational Forest Park.

If the foreign participants are interested in a study trip on Hong Kong’s urban forestry, the organizer can help bridge the local tourism agency to arrange it, at the expenses of the participants.

5. A Brief Introduction to Guangzhou

Guangzhou, located at the north of the Pearl River delta, is an important trading center as well as a busy port and the capital city of the province of Guandong. The city has an area of over 16,000 square kilometers and a population of 6.7 million.

The climate of Guangzhou is sub-tropical. The average year-round temperature is 22degrees centigrade. August is the hottest month, with an average temperature of 28degrees centigrade. January is the coldest month, with an average of 13 degrees centigrade. The rainy season falls between April and August. The average annual rainfall is 1,720 mm.

Like Athens of Greece and Rome of Italy, Guangzhou also has a history of more than 2,800 years. There are a lot of interesting legends concerning its past. A story which gives the city its name of GoatTown says that five gods riding on five goats brought the first grain to the city. So, it is also known as the City of Five Goats.

Guangzhou is also one of the most important centers of foreign commerce in South China. The Chinese Export Commodities Fair has been held twice a year in the city since 1957. It is also a cultural center. There are several universities, such as SunYat-SenUniversity, South China University of Technology, JinanUniversity and so on. There are also higher educational establishments. The city is renowned for its arts and crafts, namely the Guangdong embroidery, ivory-carving and ceramics.

Guangzhou is a beautiful city with an ever-green scenery and flowers blooming all the year round. The city boasts many tourist attractions, among which highlights are White Cloud Hill Scenic Spot, YuexiuPark, Guangzhou Zoo, SixBanyanTemple and Flowery Pagoda,and Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall etc.

6. Languages

The symposium will use both Chinese and English, with simultaneous bilingual interpretation.

7. Participants

All participants shall come from ASEM members and partners, including:

(1)17 Asian members and partners

ASEAN Secretariat,Brunei, Cambodia,China, India, Indonesia,Japan, Korea,Laos,Malaysia,Mongolia, Myanmar,Pakistan,Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

(2)28European members and partners

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech, Denmark, Estonia, the European Commission,Germany, Greece, Finland, France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania,Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

8. Expenses and Sponsorships

Meals, banquets, documentsand city tripsfor allofficial participants will be covered by the symposium;

A limited special fund is available to fully sponsor participants from developing countries with interest and abundant expertise in urban forestry but without sufficient funding.

9. Important Dates

October 15, 2008: Deadline of abstract acceptance

10. Symposium Secretariat

Contact person:Ms. Su Haiying

Address:ChineseAcademy of Forestry, Wan Shou Shan, Beijing 100091, China

Tel: 0086-10-62889083

Cell phone:0086-13691064335

Fax:0086-10-62887192

Email:

Website:

The ThirdASEM Symposium on Urban Forestry

Guangzhou, China

November 12 – 13, 2008

Registration Form

Name (as in passport)
Gender
Affiliation/Organization
Title/Post
Mailing address
Date of birth
Valid passport number
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Title of presentation
Brief education background and working experiences (for presenters only)
Accompanying person(s)
Participating the city trip on November 11, 2008 / Yes No
Other Specifications

The ThirdASEM Symposium on Urban Forestry

Guangzhou, China

November 12 – 13, 2008

Application Form for Sponsorship

Full name
Gender
Country
Affiliation/Organization
Title/Post
Mailing address
Title of presentation
Reasons for applying sponsorship
Estimated amount of international air fare (in US$)
Date of birth
Valid passport number
Date of expiry
Phone
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Email